Gay Saudi Diplomat, Ali Ahmad Asseri, Seeks Asylum In U.S.

WASHINGTON — A Saudi diplomat in Los Angeles reportedly has asked for political asylum in the United States, claiming his life is in danger if he is returned to Saudi Arabia.

The report Saturday by NBC News quoted the diplomat, Ali Ahmad Asseri, as saying that Saudi officials have ordered him back to his country because he is gay and had become a close friend to a Jewish woman. Asseri in a letter also reportedly criticized the role of militant imams in Saudi society.

NBC said that Asseri, who is first secretary of the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles, was questioned by the Department of Homeland Security after he applied for asylum. The department declined comment to The Associated Press when asked about the diplomat. A call to Asseri's lawyer was not returned Saturday.

Comments

[IamFluff]

06:35 PM on 09/15/2010

And we who are against the location of the Ground Zero Mosque are reluctant to embrace this lovely ideology? Oh shame on us!

[JavaManiac]

05:30 AM on 09/14/2010

Living in a society that forces you to be something you are not could turn a person into a very repressed and different person from who they really are.

I wonder if gay men who are forced to live a straight life in such a repressive society ever take out their frustration on the women they marry.

[GorgyPorgy]

11:43 PM on 09/13/2010

Why not stay in the peace loving country of Saudi Arabia?

[khalomar]

05:43 PM on 09/13/2010

I think that the media has sensationalized the issue. As the article says, Mr. Asseri had sent an open letter to the Saudi monarch (posted on http://www.alsaha.com/sahat/4/topics/276965 , in Arabic only) requesting to remain posted in the United States primarily because of a medical condition requiring treatment. He makes reference of his sexual orientation only in his critique of how his superiors at the LA consulate are using rumors of his alleged sexuality and apparent non-religiosity to discredit him and make his life difficult. However, I guess that a headline with "Gay Saudi Diplomat" has more mass appeal and marketability than simply " Saudi Diplomat Requesting to Remain Posted in the US". While the letter is critical of the social environment in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Asseri's sexuality seems to be only a very small part of the actual problem. Any balanced look at this incident should atleast post some kind of brief or translation of the latter.

[tkns]

04:11 PM on 09/13/2010

Dude, if the teabaggers win this election-you will be seeking asylum a second time.

[wkb2texans]

04:32 PM on 09/13/2010

yea, we're out killing people everyday ... lol

[tkns]

05:13 PM on 09/13/2010

Yes you are. It was only democrats who were in their crosshairs before, but now even republicans who don't agree with them are getting death threats(Delaware).

[JavaSavant]

05:15 PM on 09/13/2010

Well, you support people who promote killing gays in other countries. It isn't that big a stretch to assume that you would eventually bring that policy home.

[thankgodimanatheist8]

04:01 PM on 09/13/2010

Now let's see the Administration protect civil rights of people over an extremist Islamic dictatorship.

Or are we only concerned with the governments we don't like?

[wkb2texans]

04:32 PM on 09/13/2010

oh ...we're going to selll them high tech fighter planes ... congrats!

[MajorKong]

10:08 PM on 09/13/2010

You can pretty much boil your political opponents alive for all we care just so long as you "get with the program".

Dictator who doesn't do what we want = OMG! He's another Hitler!

Dictator who does what we want = well it really doesn't matter just as long as they do what we want.

[Paula Ann]

01:24 AM on 09/14/2010

exactly!!

[TwoGayGuys]

03:18 PM on 09/13/2010

Gay Saudi Diplomat Seeks Asylum In U.S., forgetting that in Canada, he could be gay AND get married!

[Euterpe360]

03:44 PM on 09/13/2010

Maybe that's step 2, but for my money I'd seek asylum in the US before anywhere else. We're kind of a big deal :)

[metogamekun]

05:47 PM on 09/13/2010

BLAME CANADA!

[Binro the Heretic]

02:41 PM on 09/13/2010

Oh, this one's going to be INTERESTING!

[DeniseA]

02:30 PM on 09/13/2010

I wonder if Ali considered seeking asylum in Israel.

[laborgrunt]

04:24 PM on 09/13/2010

Way to conflate issues for no reason at all.

[Pema]

05:01 PM on 09/13/2010

its just another example of the dumbing down of america

[joeinvt]

01:25 PM on 09/13/2010

In his speech this year at Columbia University, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country." Given the shortage of gays in Iran, they could use the Saudi ambassador there, though if he remains friends with that "Jewish woman," they may not let him in.

[JacksonD]

03:01 PM on 09/13/2010

There's an interesting documentary on youtube about gay people in Iran

"Inside Iran's Secret Gay world"

[Kam Fet]

12:00 PM on 09/13/2010

Tell me how you can really test someone for being gay? So someone say's am gay, then you automatically believe him. Oh, poor sole. Right!

[KarasudaJay]

12:22 PM on 09/13/2010

One way to tell if people are being honest is the time it takes to respond to questions. Maybe you can ask them quickly for their favorite musical, then for the color of their curtains, followed by a quick inquiry into their favorite Babs album?

[Kam Fet]

12:35 PM on 09/13/2010

But he is Arab. He's not used to these kind of music. Also, the taste of colour might be different. Overthere Yellow and red are femine whereas in the west it isn't. Pink is universally feminine, but if he chose red/yellow it might be misunderstood. So that leaves us in a dilemma.

[northendtreker]

07:47 PM on 09/13/2010

Does he wear pink? All gays love Pink. Ah, Rogers wears pink too. I wander what Mirka thinks of that.

[magtig]

01:24 PM on 09/13/2010

Yeah! Gay shoes lie!

[ammsamm]

02:40 PM on 09/13/2010

But at least they have soles.

[InfinteShibumi]

11:47 AM on 09/13/2010

You're safe--we need you as much as you need us. It's that "diplomat" title you wear. (You realize of course there's no way in Allah you're ever going home again. Just sayin'...)

[Pema]

11:12 AM on 09/13/2010

we still kick them out of the military and the us doesnt allow same sex marriages.
we arent that evolved ourselves.

[wkb2texans]

04:36 PM on 09/13/2010

right .. not allowing someone to marry due to their sexual preference is the same as killing them because of it. Get a grip.

[Pema]

05:05 PM on 09/13/2010

i hope you dont knee jerk with such negativity all the time. its no way to live.

[Jim Elkins]

11:05 AM on 09/13/2010

Isn't this the same religion of peace the left is embracing in the U.S.??? Sha'ria, coming to a town near you!!!

[Nick Mages]

11:51 AM on 09/13/2010

It's no worse than America's brand of crazy

[KarasudaJay]

12:11 PM on 09/13/2010

You can say that with a straight face?

US: Gays can't marry, can't openly serve in the military
KSA: Capital punishment

Maybe I have those backwards, they are so close that I get them confused.

[IamFluff]

06:37 PM on 09/15/2010

Words of pure ignorance. Get a clue, read the Qu'ran.

[aosborneh2o]

01:44 PM on 09/13/2010

No, this is the NATION (Saudi Arabia) that was responsible for 15 of the 19 terrorists from 9/11 as well as of their leader and his UBER WEALTHY family with strong ties to the Bushes. It is also the nation that stones women for petty crimes. It is also the nation with whom we are about to enter the largest ever arms deal with:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704621204575488361149625050.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLETopStories

It is simply sad that we cannot see through the incredibly thin veil of false friendship from Saudi Arabia... It has nothing to do with real religion and everything to do with money, oil, and fanaticism.

[wkb2texans]

04:37 PM on 09/13/2010

and Obamie is buying right into it ... no different than the bush's ... keep that oil flowing.

[jazzboy]

10:51 AM on 09/13/2010

What a travesty of justice that a person whose life is in danger if he is forced to return to Saudi Arabia, is not granted asylum. I bet FOX News Corp (aka Saudi News) won't be covering this story -- hypocrites.